BERKELEY CELEBRATES COMPLETION OF THE FIRST PHASE OF THE WEST STREET MULTI-USE PATHWAYSaturday, October 28, 2006

Berkeley, California (Monday, October 23, 2006) - On Saturday, October 28, 2006, from 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 Noon, the City of Berkeley will celebrate the completion of construction of the first segment of the West Street Multi-Use Pathway. The event, hosted by Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and Councilmember Linda Maio, will take place in the Berkeley Way Mini Park at 1294 Berkeley Way adjacent to the route of the pathway.

The first segment of the project constructed a dedicated route for bicyclists and pedestrians from Delaware Street to University Avenue, plus a pedestrian-activated stoplight to allow a safe mid-block crossing of University Avenue. Formerly, the three unimproved and partially fenced-off blocks of West Street, also known as the Santa Fe Right-Of-Way, where the project has been built had been a source of neighborhood complaints for illegal parking, abandoned vehicles and other problems.

The City financed the project with a $1 million Transportation for Livable Communities Grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), plus $115,000 in local matching funds. Working under contract to the City, the urban design firm Community Design + Architecture held three public workshops in the spring of 2004 to design the trail and the crossing of University Avenue.

The project’s second phase will build a trail segment through the new campus of the Berkeley Montessori School (BMS) in the block between University Avenue and Addison Street. Completion of the BMS segment will allow the pathway to reach Strawberry Creek Park south of Addison Street, where it will link up with a planned bicycle route via the bicycle-pedestrian bridge over I-880 to the Eastshore State Park and the Berkeley Marina. In a third phase, the trail will be extended four blocks north to link up with the existing bicycle-pedestrian path on the Ohlone Greenway. The City is seeking funding for this segment of the Multi-Use Pathway.

The October 28 event will also recognize the MTC and the BMS for their crucial roles in allowing the City to finally begin to implement a project that bicycle and open space advocates have discussed for more than twenty years.

For further information, please call Niran Shah, Project Manager, Public Works Department, at (510) 981-6396.